Much of the discussion leading up to the 2025 NBA Finals was in regard to the ratings. Two teams lacking traditional star power coming from two of the smaller media markets in the league didn’t exactly make for appointment television. And through the first three games, it has become clear that the average fan is not tuning in to watch the championship round like they typically do.
NBA Finals Viewership Down Significantly In 2025
It was never anticipated that a matchup between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder would draw major interest. But things got off to an even rockier start than expected. Game 1 ranked as the third-lowest rated series-opening contest since 1986 with 8.91 million viewers. The only lower figures were the ones for the series’ that were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 (7.41m & 8.56m).
Game 3 of the 2025 NBA Finals between Indiana and Oklahoma City averaged 9.19M viewers on ABC.
It's down nearly 20% from the same game last year featuring Boston and Dallas.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) June 13, 2025
Game 2 didn’t fare much better. The viewership for that contest dropped to 8.76 million, making it the least-watched Game 2 since 2007 (aside from the 2020 Finals in the Bubble). It drew over 3 million fewer viewers than the Nuggets vs Heat matchup in 2023.
On Wednesday, Game 3 was played in Indianapolis, and there was a slight uptick in viewership.
But it wasn’t enough to solve any problems for the NBA. Viewership rose to 9.19 million for the first home game for the Pacers, the best figure of any game so far in the series. But it still represented a decrease of nearly 20% from just last year, when Game 3 between the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics drew 11.43 million.
Ratings Have Been A Topic For The League All Season
There had been plenty of talk in the early going of the 2024-25 regular season about a drop in ratings. But the NBA rebounded in the second half of the season, and numbers were down only slightly with all things considered.
But a matchup between the 22nd and 26th biggest NBA markets spelled an early doom for the 2025 Finals series. Indianapolis has a metro population of 2.12 million, while Oklahoma City is even smaller at 1.43 million. OKC’s TV market size is just 755,000 viewers.
There may be some added interest going forward as the underdog Pacers have taken a surprising 2-1 series lead. Game 4 will be played on Friday night, with Game 5 slated for Monday.
